PROJECT ID
Department Account Number.

ANALOG JACK
A telephone line which can accommodate any standard telephone instrument, including answering machines, fax machines and modems, using either pulse dialing or DTMF (touch tone) dialing.

ANSWER
If someone calls the main Health Science Center telephone number (567-7000) for you, the operator can "camp" the call on your line (like call waiting on your home telephone). A short tone will tell you the call is "camped" on your busy line.

AUTHENTICATION
The process by which a user’s identity is checked within the network to ensure that the is authorized access to the requested resources.

AUTHORIZATION CODE
A six digit number used to assign long distance calls with a specific Project ID and employee. Requests are submitted on a Service Request Form.

BACKBONE (THE CORE)
The part of a network that acts as the primary path for traffic that is most often sourced from, and destined for, other networks.

BANDWIDTH
The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies available for network signals. The term is also used to describe the rated throughput capacity of a given network medium or protocol.

BOSS/SECRETARY
This feature allows a secretary to screen calls.

BROADCAST
Data packet that will be sent to all nodes on a network. Broadcasts are identified by a broadcast address. Compare with multicast and unicast.

BROADCAST STORM
Undesirable network event in which many broadcasts are sent simultaneously across all network segments. A broadcast storm uses substantial network bandwidth and, typically, causes network time-outs.

BUFFER
Storage area used for handling data in transit. Buffers are used in internetworking to compensate for differences in processing speed between network devices. Bursts of data can be stored in buffers until they can be handled by slower processing devices. Sometimes referred to as a packet buffer.

BUSY SIGNAL
The busy signal sounds like a common busy signal and indicates that you have dialed a number that is in use.

CALL BACK
The CALL BACK feature allows you to have a busy extension call you back when both extensions are idle.

CALL FORWARD (ALL CALLS)
CALL FORWARD allows you to forward all calls to another telephone number.

CALL FORWARD/BUSY/NO ANSWER
CALL FORWARD/BUSY/NO ANSWER allows you to forward your calls to another telephone number if you are not there or your line is busy.

CALL PARK
Allows you to "park" a call until you retrieve it from your own or another telephone.

CALLING CARDS
Long distance calling cards, requested through Telecommunications & Networking, for making departmental long distance calls from off-campus. Requests are submitted on a Service Request Form.

CB
A programmed button for setting a CALL BACK.

CIRCUIT
Dedicated communications channel between two or more points.

CLIENT
Node or software program (front-end device) that requests services from a server.

CLIENT/SERVER COMPUTING
Term used to describe distributed computing (processing) network systems in which transaction responsibilities are divided into two parts: client (front end) and server (back end). Both terms (client and server) can be applied to software programs or actual computing devices.

CONFERENCE CALL
This feature allows a three-party conversation.

CONSULTATION HOLD
Allows you to place a call on hold, call someone else and go back to the first caller.

DATA ADAPTER
An interface between a personal computer or terminal and the telephone system via an RS232 connector.

DATABASE
The current and variable data elements in regard to the telephone system defined and maintained by the user.

DEDICATED KEYS
There are dedicated keys on 8 and 16 button telephones. Each has a label and some keys have an indicator light.

DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Communications protocol where a range of IP addresses are managed centrally and assigned automatically to computers on demand. The alternative is to use static IP address where each computer is permanently allocated a fixed IP address.

DIAL TONE
The common, steady tone indicating you may make a call or begin to use a feature.

DIGITAL JACK
A telephone jack configured for 8 or 16 button telephones.

DIRECTED CALL PICK-UP
This feature allows you to answer another ringing telephone that is not in your Pick-Up Group.

DND
This programmed button, located on the 8 and 16 button telephone, lets you turn your telephone off. Your callers will hear a reorder tone which indicates your telephone is set in DND.

DNS
Domain Name Service or Domain Name System. Provides hostname to IP address translations.

EIGHT (8) BUTTON TELEPHONE
A desk telephone with two rows of four buttons near the top of the instrument. This instrument plugs into a digital jack.

ENCRYPTION
A type of network security in which information sent over the network is encoded so that only the intended users can access the information.

ETHERNET
Baseband LAN specification invented by Xerox Corporation and developed jointly by Xerox, Intel, and Digital Equipment Corporation. Ethernet networks use CSMA/CD and run over a variety of cable types at 10 Mbps. Ethernet is similar to the IEEE 802.3 series of standards.

FIREWALL
Hardware and/or software used to divide a LAN into two or more parts for security reasons.

FLASH
"FLASH" is a programmed button that signals the telephone switch that you are using a feature, such as CALL BACK, MESSAGE, or VOICE.

FWBNA
A programmed button for setting CALL FORWARD/BUSY/NO ANSWER.

FWD
A programmed button for setting CALL FORWARD ALL CALLS.

GATEWAY
Any hardware or software that is used for the purpose of providing access from one system to another.

HOLD
The red HOLD button allows you to place a call on hold.

HOST
Term used in the Internet community to describe any device attached to the network that provides application-level service.

HUB
Hardware or software device that contains multiple independent but connected modules of network and internetwork equipment. Hubs can be active (where they repeat signals sent through them) or passive (where they do not repeat, but merely split, signals sent through them).

HUNT GROUP
This feature allows a call to be directed to an idle station in a prearranged group when the called station is busy.

I.D.T.
An InterDepartmental Transfer of funds. This form is used by Accounting to transfer funds from one department Project ID to another Project ID.

IP ADDRESS (INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESS)
32-bit address assigned to hosts using TCP/IP. An IP address belongs to one of five classes (A, B, C, D, or E) and is written as 4 octets separated by periods (dotted decimal format). Each address consists of a network number, an optional subnetwork number, and a host number. The network and subnetwork numbers together are used for routing, while the host number is used to address an individual host within the network or subnetwork. A subnet mask is used to extract network and subnetwork information from the IP address. CIDR provides a new way of representing IP addresses and subnet masks. Also called an Internet address.

JACK
Equipment used for a modem, answering machine, or fax machine.

LAN
Local-Area Network is a high-speed, low-error data network covering a relatively small geographic area (up to a few thousand meters). LANs connect workstations, peripherals, terminals, and other devices in a single building or other geographically limited area. LAN standards specify cabling and signaling at the physical and data link layers of the OSI model. Ethernet, FDDI, and Token Ring are widely used LAN technologies.

LAN SWITCH
High-speed switch that stores and forwards packets between data-link segments. Most LAN switches forward traffic based on MAC addresses. This variety of LAN switch is sometimes called a frame switch. LAN switches are often categorized according to the method they use to forward traffic: cut-through packet switching or store-and-forward packet switching. Multilayer switches are an intelligent subset of LAN switches.

LAST #
This programmed button allows your telephone to "remember" the last number you dialed.

LCD
Liquid Crystal Display-At the top of the 16 button telephone there is a liquid crystal display which assists you in using your telephone.

LINE
An extra extension number on a telephone that is NOT a Prime Line of another telephone.

MAC ADDRESS
Standardized data link layer address that is required for every port or device that connects to a LAN. This is, in essence, the address of the NIC. Both the transmitting station's MAC address as well as the destination station's MAC address are contained in all LAN frames. MAC addresses are 6 bytes long and are controlled by the IEEE. Also known as a hardware address, a MAC-layer address, or a physical address.

MESSAGE
The MESSAGE feature allows you to receive or leave a call indicator on an 8 button telephone or on the display of a 16 button telephone - if the called party also has this feature.

MIC
The MIC button turns the built-in microphone on and off. This button is used with VOICE call, BOSS/SECRETARY feature or with the speaker-phone function.

MSG
A programmed button for setting the MESSAGE feature.

NEC
NEC America; the telephone system manufacturer.

NETWORK
Collection of routers, switches, and other devices that are able to carry traffic between computers printers and other devices over a transmission medium.

NIC
Network Interface Card is a board that provides network communication capabilities to and from a computer system. Also called an adapter.

OFF HOOK
Handset is picked up and dial tone sounds.

PACKET
Logical grouping of information that includes a header containing control information and (usually) user data. Packets are most often used to refer to network layer units of data. The terms datagram, frame, message, and segment are also used to describe logical information groupings at various layers of the OSI reference model and in various technology circles. Key features of a packet contains destination IP in addition to information.

PACKET SWITCHING
Networking method in which nodes share bandwidth with each other by sending packets.

PAGER
A small one-way or two-way receiver you carry.

PBX
Private Branch Exchange

PC
Personal Computer

PICK
A programmed button for activating the CALL PICK-UP feature.

PICK-UP GROUP
Allows you to answer up to twenty numbers that are physically close together. You can answer a telephone that is in your Pick-Up Group and does not show as a line on your telephone. You must be able to hear the telephone ring.

PL
The abbreviation for Prime Line.

PORT
Interface on an internetworking device (such as a switch).

PREWIRE
A telephone jack with cable run to it, but is not active.

PRIME LINE (PL#)
Refers to your telephone's extension number.

PROGRAMMED KEYS AND FEATURES
On the 8 and 16 button telephones there are two rows of buttons. The upper left hand button is the "prime line" of your telephone. The other buttons are a combination of telephone numbers and programmed features, such as FWD, LAST#, VOICE, etc.

QoS
Quality of Service is used as a measure of performance for a transmission system that reflects its transmission quality and service availability. This technology is used to prioritize network traffic for applications such as voice and video that must arrive at the destination node without the latency normally experienced with data networks.

RANGE
A telephone number relating to a geographical boundary limiting long distance calls to specific areas. 0=International (Anywhere); 1=United States, Mexico, and Canada; 2=Texas only.

RECALL
A button used to end a call or get a new dial tone.

REDUNDANT SYSTEM OR MIRRORED SYSTEM
Computer, router, switch, or other system that contains two or more of each of the most important subsystems, such as two disk drives, two CPUs, or two power supplies.

REORDER TONE
A tone sounding like a fast busy signal. It means an unassigned number was dialed, a service feature was denied, or your handset was off hook too long.

RING
A circular network topology that provides redundant paths for network traffic be routed.

RING LEVERS
These levers, located on the underside of the telephone, control the three different ring tones and how loud your telephone rings.

SERVICE SET TONE
A high steady tone that tells you a feature was set or cancelled.

SINGLE LINE TELEPHONE
A desk telephone with a keypad and one dedicated button the FLASH button. This instrument plugs into an analog jack.

SIXTEEN (16) BUTTON TELEPHONE
A desk telephone with a display window at the top of the telephone and four rows of four buttons (for a total of sixteen) below the display. This instrument plugs into a digital jack.

SPEAKER
A dedicated button on 8 and 16 button telephones which allows you to dial or monitor a call without lifting your handset.

SPECIAL DIAL TONE
A tone that sounds like a pulsating busy signal. It means you may proceed to use a feature.

SPD
A programmed Speed Dial button located on the top of 8 and 16 button telephones.

SPEED CALLING
The 16 button telephone has twenty SPEED CALLING buttons that you may program for one-touch calling. Each button will hold up to a twenty-four digit number.

SPEED DIAL
This feature allows you to call a number you have preprogrammed in the SPD button. This SPD button may be programmed as one of the programmable buttons on the top of 8 and 16 button telephones. Each SPD button will hold up to eight digits.

S & R
This feature allows you to save a number and redial it even if intervening calls have taken place on your telephone.

SRF
Service Request Form.

STAR AND POUND
* and # are buttons located on the keypad and are used with certain number for accessing features.

STATIC IP
An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique number that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard.

SWITCH
Network device that filters, forwards, and floods frames based on the destination address of each frame. The switch operates at the data link layer of the OSI model.

TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Common name for the suite of protocols developed by the U.S. DoD in the 1970s to support the construction of worldwide internetworks. TCP and IP are the two best-known protocols in the suite.

TELNET
Standard terminal emulation protocol in the TCP/IP protocol stack. Telnet is used for remote terminal connection, enabling users to log in to remote systems and use resources as if they were connected to a local system. Telnet is defined in RFC 854.

TIE LINES
A telephone line which connects you to the V.A. Hospital,  University Hospital, or other sites by dialing a tie line access code and a four- or five-digit extension number (94+XXXX or 98+8+XXXX).

TIMEOUT
Event that occurs when one network device expects to hear from another network device within a specified period of time, but does not. The resulting timeout usually results in a retransmission of information or the dissolving of the session between the two devices.

TRANSFER
A dedicated button on 8 and 16 button telephones.

TRUNK
Physical and logical connection between two switches across which network traffic travels. A backbone is composed of a number of trunks.

UCD GROUP
Uniform Call Distribution group.

UNASSIGNED
An extension number not used anywhere on campus.

UPLINKS
A term used to refer to any high-speed connection between two or more switches, between a switch and a router, a channel, and so forth.

VLAN
Virtual LAN is a group of devices on one or more LANs that are configured (using management software) so that they can communicate as if they were attached to the same network segment, when in fact they are located on a number of different LAN segments. Because VLANs are based on logical instead of physical connections, they are extremely flexible.

VOICE
A programmed button on 8 and 16 button telephones.

VOICE CALL
This feature allows you to speak directly through the handset of your 8 or 16 button telephone to another 8 or 16 button telephone. It is a one-way intercom.

VOICE MAIL
Allows you to record, store, and retrieve voice messages.

VPN
Virtual Private Network is put together by using public wires or remote access to connect nodes, usually encrypted. Ensures only authorized users have access.

WIRE PLAN (WP#)
A number designation for a segment of telephone cable.